UK and Brazilian scientists will be working together to study the formation of critical ocean minerals essential for new technology – particularly environmental technology such as photovoltaic cells. MarineE-tech, a £4.2M research programme funded by NERC (UK) and FAPESP (Brazil), will assess deep ocean ferromanganese deposits – a major resource of elements that include cobalt, tellurium and the rare earths used in E-technologies.

Seabed survey company Bibby HydroMap has invited key clients and prospects to witness demonstrations with their survey ROV d'ROP equipped with PanGeo’s SBI (Sub Bottom Imager). As a dedicated survey ROV, d’ROP was launched earlier this year and has been performing trials with a number of cable locating systems before being mobilised to a project on board Bibby HydroMap’s 27m catamaran Bibby Athena.

Fugro has been awarded the geotechnical investigation contract for Sites III and IV at the Borssele wind area, off the Dutch coast of Zeeland. The geotechnical work is being undertaken on behalf of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and constitutes the final investigation at the Borssele wind farm sites before the final tender bidding rounds begin.

ATLAS Knowledge Group, a leading international provider of learning technology solutions has announced a new partnership with the prestigious Petroleum Extension (PETEX™) at the University of Texas at Austin that brings both organisations world-class training provision to a global audience. The alliance will see PETEX’s highly acclaimed technical drilling e-learning courses added to the Atlas content library to create an unrivalled service offering composed of 800 specialist training courses. Part of Atlas’ ongoing strategy to expand its global business, the move will not only allow the company to establish a firm presence in a significant new market, it makes PETEX’s world-class drilling and well control content available to the company’s database of customers operating in 99 countries. The partnership covers all oil and gas regions excluding the Americas

BIRNS, Inc. has announced that its Quality Management System (QMS) recently had its successful ISO 9001:2008 recertification audit carried out by DNV-GL, an international certification body and classification society created as a result of a merger between Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd. ISO 9001:2008 is a globally recognized standard for QMS implementation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). During the audit, BIRNS' QMS was thoroughly reviewed across all applicable company departments and all standard elements to ensure proper implementation, procedure compliance and proof of continuous process improvements, as required by the Standard.

15th September 2015, A NEW joint venture between Harkand and Consolidated Shipping Agencies Ltd has resulted in its first contract win in Ghana, West Africa. The award will see the global inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) company delivering onshore and offshore support to Technip in the region. Having formed a strategic alliance with Consolidated Shipping Agencies Ltd, the company’s Aberdeen-based Harkand Andrews Survey team will deliver services to Technip on the Tullow Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) project situated in the deepwater Tano block, approximately 60km off the coast of Ghana.

The first true three-dimensional picture of submarine canyon habitats has been produced using a unique combination of marine robotics and ship-based measurements. The information captured in this new set of maps ranges in scale from the 200km canyon down to the size of an individual cold-water coral polyp, and will be used to inform the management of the only English Marine Conservation Zone in deep water. This ‘nested map’ is the result of a recent scientific expedition to the Whittard Canyon in the Bay of Biscay, led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). It works in a way not unlike a set of Russian dolls, with the most detailed map sitting within a larger scale one, which sits within a larger map still.

Aberdeen based engineering firm OceanTools has released C-Scan, its new laser based optical 3D scanning system and latest innovation to enter the offshore energy production market.

Independent subsea remotely operated vehicle (ROV) service provider ROVOP has revealed more than £2.5 million worth of new contract wins in the last month from its Aberdeen and Houston offices across the oil, gas and offshore wind markets.

The Oceans '15 Organizing Committee has negotiated a group rate of USD $289/night, including in-room internet access (but no meals), at the Gaylord National hotel. The conference block is open and reservations can be made through September 18, 2015 at 5:00pm EST.

A new model for increasing workforce competency in the ROV industry, using a realistic offshore instruction environment, has been unveiled by The Underwater Centre at the Subsea UK ROV conference in Aberdeen.

SPE Offshore Europe 2015, held in Aberdeen, Scotland from September 8-11, sent out a very clear message that the oil and gas industry has a future for many years to come. The theme of the 2015 event, inspiring the next generation, allowed the industry to address the technical, business and people challenges it faces now and into the future. At the heart of this is the need to attract and encourage the next generation of talent into the industry.

SubC Imaging is excited to reveal the latest result of its constant push for innovation and research – a suite of 4K equipment which dramatically increases inspection quality and effectiveness.

New independent testing of the recently launched BIOGEN WIRESHIELD® wire rope and ROV umbilicals lubricant demonstrates consistently high lubrication performance within an industry-leading temperature range of -50ºC to +180ºC.

Industry requests for new compact light source to benefit saturation divers New technology which aims to enhance safety for deep sea divers in the oil and gas industry has been produced by a Scottish research and development company. PSL, a spin out company of the University of St Andrews, has further developed its award-winning unique fibre lighting system LIGHTPATH, which offers an innovative technical solution to many sectors where safety of life is paramount.

Ocean Installer has been awarded a contract for deep water UFR installation work with Total E&P Congo at the Moho Nord field off the coast of the Republic of Congo. The contract is Ocean Installer’s first major operation in West Africa following the creation of the Africa, Mediterranean and Middle East regional office in the second half of 2014.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has appointed Allen Leatt as Chief Executive. He will be joining on 1 October 2015 from Subsea 7 where he has been Senior VP for Engineering and Project Management. Looking forward to joining IMCA with its thousand-plus member companies in over 60 countries at a challenging time for the industry, Allen said he is “delighted to be joining IMCA and determined to strengthen and build upon the organisation’s special position in the marine contracting industry”.

The chief executive officer of Proserv today (Wednesday, September 9) called for the industry to make dynamic changes to the way it acts and behaves. Speaking at Offshore Europe, David Lamont said the North Sea has many years of profitable life ahead if the sector urgently adopts more collaborative and efficient business practices. He said: “We must embrace and rekindle the pioneering spirit that made the North Sea great in the past to ensure the North Sea industry doesn’t fade out prematurely, but really flourishes in its latter years.